Pondering Lucius and Draco

[pigwidgeon37 at yahoo.it]

No: HPFGUIDX 23818


Gwendolyn Grace wrote:
<Given that (albeit unsupportable) history, a lot of Lucius's 
<behaviour makes some sense. He didn't necessarily feel he needed V 
<anymore--perhaps the DE stuff was getting in the way of the power 
<and prestige he was building for his own legacy to leave Draco. 
<Perhaps he was disillusioned at the time or just as happy to be left 
<in control of his own affairs. But when V returns,he's awe-struck 
<and it reinforces all the feelings he transferred from his
<father to V at just the right time in his life. He's obsessed with
<immortality--one of V's self-proclaimed goals and a carrot he 
<dangles before his followers--because he watched his father become 
<less and less of a man, first confined to a wheelchair, then unable 
<to stay awake for more than a few hours at a time, finally a husk of 
<his former strength, taken away from his wife and family in what 
<should have been the prime of life. Lucius isn't about to let that 
<happen, and he hopes that V is wizard enough to find the secrets he 
<promises.

First things first: This was a  bloody brilliant analysis. Allow me 
though to disagree in some points.
I don't think of Lucius Malfoy as "The Man Who Did It All by 
Himself". This is an ancient family, whose offspring simply think 
themselves entitled to everything: Privilege, respect, power, 
fulfilment of all their desires. Lucius certainly had a very 
different relationship with his father than Draco is having with him. 
Or he made some very decisive and traumatic experience that forged 
his character. Anyway, this man is much more an incarnation of the 
power of evil than Voldemort will ever be, because he masters the art 
of fooling people like Fudge into believing he's good and the art of 
escaping the ones who instinctively know he's bad (like Arthur 
Weasley). Evil characters like Lucius will always get the better of 
the straightforward good ones, because they excel in the art of 
making the good ones ridiculous. Arthur Weasley can be right a 
hundred times- one word of Lucius will make him poor Arthur, with too 
many children and no money, never promoted and lost in some foolish 
idea of protecting Muggles. Voldemort is evil, but Lucius is the 
villain with style and he damned well knows that.


<I think Draco is the quintessential poor little rich kid, who 
<usually gets whatever material thing he desires, sooner or later, 
<but is very lacking in emotional support.This too can trace back to 
<Lucius: he did it all on his own, because his father couldn't be 
<there for him. Now he has this son, and he has no idea how to guide 
<Draco other than by example. I see Lucius as someone who keeps
<hoping that his son will discover the secret to being influential 
<and mature and powerful without any instruction, as if he will go to 
<bed one night a sniveling, whiny, spoiled child, and wake up the 
<next a charismatic young man, ready to lead and take responsibility 
<for himself and his minions. I don't think Lucius really realises 
<how much guidance that requires, and how much his father actually 
<managed to communicate to him without his knowing it.


That would put draco very near Barty Crouch jr.- only heir of an old 
wizarding family, loaded with tradition and expectations, bound to 
run wild and become a rebel to his father (because the mothers, in 
both families, don't seem too important). Following this thread, 
Draco would be bound to go over to the good side, just as Barty jr. 
went to the bad. Not because he's redeemed, but because this is the 
worst thing he can do to his father.


<Will there ultimately be a rift between father and son? I honestly 
<don't want to hazard a guess on that. I DO think Draco will 
<encounter some real questions about his path, and I DO think that 
<Snape must begin to position himself in Draco's mind as someone he 
<can turn to for the guidance that he didn't get from Lucius. He 
<would be more likely to go to Snape than anyone else, but he's not 
<ready for it yet.

See above. In that case I'd say he would turn directly to Dumbledore- 
Snape is much too ambiguous to fit the purpose.



<Lucius is a cut above theothers, both in his own estimation and in 
<Voldemort's. I do think he has a strong vision, which is better 
<formed than many of the other followers. I also think that Lucius 
<has enough power and influence to suit himself and he's confident 
<that Draco will be provided for. But I don't think he has any 
<intention of dying anytime soon. His obsession with immortality may 
<not be as all-consuming as V's, and he's not willing to go to the 
<same lengths as the snakeman, but it's still there. He's willing to 
<let V take all the risks, let others do the dirty work, and remain a 
<mastermind who can exert influence through money, power, and 
<planning. He does play the courtier just a little bit in GoF, 
<though, Heidi, having the sense to look abashed on cue. But I would 
<subscribe to the view that his public persona among the DE's is
<just that: a courtier. He plays a game and he knows when he's being 
<sincere and when he's paying lip service. Like Draco, he's not above 
<a little sucking up if it achieves his means, but unlike Draco, he's 
<learned to be a little more subtle about it.

As I said, a villain with style. Draco's all-present, unattainable 
ideal. As long as Draco is still a boy, he'll just cuddle up in 
Lucius' shadow. As soon as he'll develop a personality of his own, he 
will feel the need to emerge. Either he becomes an even bigger 
villain with even more style (he could kill Lucius to become LV's 
no.1), or he goes in the opposite direction. The third option is 
suicide, even if that sounds very dramatic.
Anyway, Draco will be redeemed at the moment he steps out of his 
father's dominant, almighty shadow and develops a character of his 
own. Whether good or bad is a secondary question.


Susanna (feeling quite dramatic tonight)